Analysis of Childhood Asthma: A Community Health Problem Report

This report examines childhood asthma as a significant population-based health problem within a specific community. It begins by highlighting the prevalence of childhood asthma, citing statistics on its impact on children's health, school attendance, and the healthcare system. The report then explores government interventions and public health infrastructure designed to address the issue, including surveillance systems and collaborations with educational institutions to promote healthy environments. It identifies gaps in current strategies, such as inconsistencies in care and knowledge deficits among children, and discusses the role of community health nurses in managing asthma through patient education, home visits, and collaboration with schools. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations and tailored interventions to improve outcomes and reduce disparities related to this health concern.

Title
Student’s name
Student’s id

Population-based health problem present in my community
Population-based health problem is an issue that drive poor health conditions in the
population which is a concern for the healthcare system of the whole community or country.
In my community, a population-based health problem is childhood asthma which continues to
be the leading cause of emergency visits. In a study of 2016, it has been found that
approximately 8.3% of children in the United States had asthma (American Academy of
Allergy Asthma & Immunology, 2019). According to the statistics, asthma prevalence among
the children increased from 8.7% in 2001 to 9.4% in 2010, however it became 8.3% in 2016
but it was not that significant reduction (American Academy of Allergy Asthma &
Immunology, 2019). Again, statistics show that in the year 2013, children with asthma from
the ages of 5 to 17 years old missed 13.8 million days of school which is an average of 2.6
days per child (American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, 2019). The studies
indicated that children of 4 years or younger are less likely to have asthma but in this page,
the asthmatic children are more likely to have asthma attacks (American Academy of Allergy
Asthma & Immunology, 2019). Asthma attacks pose strain on the healthcare system and
affect the performance of the children. However, poor follow-up and delays in seeking care
can worsen the condition of asthma among the patients.
Structure and government interventions to address the issue
A strong public health infrastructure and government interventions are essential to
ensure adequate strategies in controlling and preventing asthma. Several state asthma
programs are identified that are responsible for collecting, analyzing as well as distributing
asthma surveillance data. United States government institute a comprehensive as well as a
nationwide asthma surveillance system that tract asthma incidence, prevalence, morbidity and
mortality to collect and report nationally consistent data on healthcare access. Also,

collaborating with the health department, state asthma programs use their position to connect
with the other government departments such as state board of education or department of
education to increase the awareness regarding childhood asthma. Researches of National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) depicts the necessity of healthy
environment in school in order to reduce the risk of asthma attack among the children. The
department of education in this regard takes necessary steps to inform all the school about
maintaining a healthy and pollution free environment to improve the air quality inside the
schools (Woods, 2016). Department of Health and Human Services collaborates with the
State Board of Education to improve the asthma status of the school-going children in the
United States.
Gaps present in the strategies
Although, evidence-based guidelines are available, for the issue regarding childhood
asthma but there are some substantial gaps between the cares delivered in the primary care
settings and the accepted best practices for asthma care. Apart from this, a range of
explanations have been found that demonstrates the lack of progress in the asthma control
among children (Woods, 2016). Knowledge among the children regarding asthma is another
gap in care strategies. Failure to follow the recommendations can worsen the asthmatic
condition of the patients (Woods, 2016). Failure of the health services to reach and assist to
children in increasing their knowledge is creating gap in the strategies, also, lack of
integration and coordination with the services of clinics and community settings is playing
the role of barrier. Effective and consistent drug delivery to the airways is quite challenging
for the children with asthma. All these above stated issues are the gaps that can be perceived
while analyzing the approach of my community for such kind of population based health
problem.

Role of community health nurses
Community health nurses play an important role in addressing any kind of population-
based health issues. Patients’ education plays a key role in managing asthma and the
community health nurses can provide training on identifying the effective strategies to
improve the quality of life and one of them is visit to the home. From visiting a patient’s
home, nurses will be able to identify any potential triggers such as pets and moulds and adjust
their activities of daily living in order to prevent and control the childhood asthma
prevalence. The Nursing and Midwifery Council 2015 mentions that proper nutrition is a
fundamental part of care for the asthma patients and community health nurses should ensure
that the asthmatic’s diet plan is healthy and it can avoid the triggering of asthma attack
(Woods, 2016). In order to make the home visit plan effective, it is necessary to develop the
structure and determine the program goals. A general asthma education should be provided to
the school children through some awareness campaign programs organized by the schools in
collaboration with the community health nursing teams. Ensuring the proper ethical
considerations, community health nurses should access individual health related information
of the asthmatic children and implement medication as well as controlling strategies to
improve the condition.

References
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. (2019). Asthma Statistics. Retrieved
from https://www.aaaai.org/about-aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics
Woods, E. R. (2016). Community asthma initiative to improve health outcomes and reduce
disparities among children with asthma. MMWR supplements, 65. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/su/su6501a4.htm